Yum Yum Sauce

Description

Yum Yum sauce is the perfect complement to the buttery and garlicky meat and vegetables that make up any hibachi dinner.  Whenever we go to any hibachi restaurant, we find ourselves ordering extra sauce to take home so we can enjoy some more Yum Yum Sauce with our leftovers.  Instead of gambling on a store bought sauce, what could be better than making Yum Yum Sauce at home to serve for your next hibachi night?  And what’s better than better is taking the mayonnaise based Yum Yum Sauce and putting a healthy twist on it while staying true to the classic flavors.  The downside of a restaurant made or store bought Yum Yum Sauce is that it is heavily mayonnaise based which can really crank up the fat and calories.  I created a version that replaces half the mayo with plain greek yogurt which drastically reduces calories and increases protein.  Regular mayo has roughly 750 calories per half cup while greek yogurt has only about 75 calories and 10 grams of protein per half cup, which gives my version of Yum Yum Sauce a significant reduction in fat and calories so you can enjoy your hibachi knowing you are putting something healthier in your body without compromising flavor.  I prefer to use a creamier greek yogurt like the Fage Brand to keep away some of the sourness that some plain yogurts can have.  Accompanying a hibachi meal is the principal use for this sauce, however I have used this sauce on sandwiches or as a dipping sauce for grilled meats.  What I love most about making sauces like this at home is the consistency.  I find that when I buy Yum Yum sauce from the store, it tends to be overly spicy or sweet, and the texture tends to be almost gluey (Yuck!).  Making your sauce at home ensures a smooth texture because you are using ingredients you are familiar with leaving you with no unexpected surprises. Speaking of unexpected surprises, did you know about that time my kids glued themselves together?  My son had an art project that he was trying to glue together and his trusty school glue wasn’t doing the trick.  He was running out of time and options, so he went into the garage to look for something a little more heavy duty, and that’s when he found the super glue.  I typically keep the super glue on a high shelf and out of the line of sight for this reason, but on that day, he must have been pretty desperate and went to great heights to find it.  After reaching the super glue, my son triumphantly returned to his work table to finish his art project.  He successfully secured his art project together when his brother spotted the forbidden glue and decided to have his turn using it.  Well, one thing led to another and within seconds, my kids were glued together!  Luckily I was nearby when they were in a panic over being stuck together so I was able to help them.  I quickly put together some warm and soapy water to release them from their gluey trap and in no time, they were back to normal.  After all that commotion, it was just about time to start getting dinner ready so I tossed the super glue into the garbage and began to mix together my Yum Yum Sauce to serve with dinner.